Valhalla

Anybody in the mood for some post about Viking mythology? I know it is not Tyr's Day, or Odin's Day or Thor's Day, that said I have not properly blogged about Viking mythology in a long while, so now is as good a time as any. This picture was taken from this book, my reference when it comes to Viking mythology and the drawing is from Giovanni Caselli. It represents of course the Valhalla, the hall where the brave warriors who fell in battle go in the afterlife to prepare for Ragnarok. The image is a bit heavy on pink to my liking, otherwise it is beautiful and as spectacular and richly detailed as the other images from Caselli. You can see Odin's eagle towering over the fortress, which is made of shields and weapons, a wolf's head over the gate and on the roof the cock Gullinkambi, who will crow only once, on the morning of Ragnarok. All of it surrounded by otherworldly fog. Pink otherwordly fog. All the same, it is still an amazing picture. I thought about this morning, as it was misty outside and cool, and it gave the whole surroundings an eerie feel, and I thought of this image of Valhalla.